Hair curler



July 27, l.948- R. E. RATLIFF 2,445,924

HAIR CURLER Filed Aug.A 26. 1946 Patented July 27, 1948` l UNITED STATES PATENT "oFFicE nam ommm Rudolph E. mum, Los Angeles, oeuf.

Application August Z6, 1946, Serial No. 693,018

My invention relatesgenerally to hair curlers and more particularly to devices of this type adapted to be used in the home and in beauty shops to produce curls and waves in the hair in any of the well knownv manners.

01'" the various types of curlers` which have heretofore been available,- one of the most popular types has been oneconsisting primarily of a lsmall metal tube around which the hair is wound and held in place by some form of clamping means. While such curlers have been quite simple to use and have produced fairly good results-they have a number of disadvantages which are apparent to those who use them. For example, the clamp which fits over the hair' after it .is wound upon the curler has customarily been a wire bail which is pivotally attached to the body of the curler at one end thereof, and provided with a roller adapted to fit into the other end of the curler to hold the bail in place and prevent the hair from unrolling. This construction has been objectionable since it has meant that the rolling of the hair on the body of the curler must be stopped at a point just beyond the bail, which often means that the hair is not curled all the Way to the scalp, or in other cases, that the hair is pulled tightly so that the curler may be as close to the scalp as possible. 4

Another disadvantage of such curlers has been that inadequate provision has been made for the ow of vair through the hair and through the length of the curler. While the body of such a curler has customarily been provided with a number of 'holes through which air may circulate,

large areas of metal have remained, against which the hair rests with no possibility of air `flowing through the latter to dry it. In addition, the end of the body of the curler has generally the latter.

i 9 claims. (ci. 13s-'42) hair wound thereon to shorten the drying time of A further object oi my invention is to `provide such 'a curler which may be readily made with few manufacturing operations, and from easily obtainable materials so that the cost of the curler will be kept low,

It is still another object of my invention to provide such a curler which produces superior results whether used by experienced or inexperienced operators.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred and a modied form thereof, and from the drawings illustrating those forms in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my preferred form of curler; Y

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view thereof; Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken at 3-3 in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken at 4.-d in Fig.2;

been closed by the clamping means and attachments so that the flow of air along the body of thel curler 4has also been materially restricted.` -As a result, any air which does pass through the holes in the body of the curler must then pass through a restricted passageway to escape from the interior of the curler to the outside.

It is therefore a major object of my invention to provide a curler in which the clamping member holding the hair upon the curler may be engaged at any desired rotational position to permit the complete rolling of the of the latter.

It is another object of my invention to provide such a curler in which provision is made for an increased iiow of air through the curler and the hair Without pulling to Figs. 1 and 2 thereof, the numeral it! indicates the body of a curler which is generally cylindrical in shape and preferably formed of a relatively light gauge, rust-proof metal such as aluminum. As will become apparent, the body lll may be made from seamless tubing or froma flat sheet formed to the desired shape. At the rear or left end of the body lil, as shown in Fig. 1, the body is substantially cylindrical for a short distance, and this cylinder portion l5 is then distorted tovform a series of ridges ll and grooves l2 extending substantially the entire length of the body. Along the bottom of the grooves l2 I provide a series of holes or apertures I3 which permit air to circulate through thebody portion lll, thereby aid ing in the drying of the hair. The ridges ll have a relatively short radius of curvature so that a minimum of their area is in-contact with the hair, and the major portion of the latter extends over the grooves l2 without touching the metal thus affording ample opportunity for air to pass through the hair to dry it.

At the forward or right hand end of the body l0 as shown in Fig.` l, I provide a cylindrical porthat ofthe cylindrical portion I! at the rearward vend of Ithe body, and is preferablyof such a size that it may be slipped within the roll of hair wound around the body I of the curler. This is illustrated in Fig. 4 where the shape taken by the hair is indicated by the phantom outline Il winch, it will be noted. is slightly larger than the maximum diameter of the cylindrical portion I4. In this way, the curler may readily be removed from the hair without unrolling the latter, and without any danger of the hairs being caught and broken when the curler is removed. While this feature is not essential, it materially adds to the usefulness of the curler and simplifies its operation. I

To hold a lock of hair ito .the body Ii of the curler when starting to roll the hair thereon. I provide a finger I1 which is pivotally attached to the larger cylindrical portion l5 by means 0! a rivet or similar holding means. 'As is customary, the finger i1 is provided with holes 2| which extend through it to prevent .the finger from completely closing oil the flow of air to the grooves I2 and holes I3 located therein. The

use and operation of finger I1 is conventional, and hence it is believed that a more detailed description of -this particular feature is not needed.

To keep the hair from unrolling after it has been wound upon the curler, I provide an elastic cord or resilient member 22 to act as 'a clamping member which is attached to the rearward end of the body I0, and provided with a hook or other suitable engaging member 23 which is l adapted to llt over the end of the small cylindrical portion I4. A convenient member such as a loop of thread 24 or a projection on the hook 23 is .provided to enable lthe resilient cord 22 to be readily grasped and stretched.

The resilient cord 22 is attached to the body member I0 in a manner so-that the cord may be rotated to extend along the body portion I 0 in any desired position. While other methods of attachment may be used, I prefer to use a U- shaped cross member 25 whose base extends across the cylindrical portion I5, and whose arms are parallel` to the axis of the body I0. The arms of the'cross member 2B are'held to the body III both by rivet 20 and by a pair of stamped-out ears 28 which fit inrto holes 21 in the cylindrical portion I5 to prevent any pivoting of the cross member about the rivet.

Centrally located in the cross member 25 is 'a hole an 'through which the elastic cord z2 is passed v.and held by a knot or clamping member 3i. The hole-30 is of a sufllcient size to permit the elastic cord 22 to move freely therein, and hence turned so tha-t it may be placed along the body I0 in any desired position thus allowing the entire length of a strand of hair to be curled without pulling the scalp.

j It will be-realized that the cross member` 25 closes a portion of the end opening in the body III and hence tends to decrease the flow of air through the curler. To overcome Ithis ditllculty, I have cut away the end of the cylindrical portion I5 as indicated at 32 in Figs. 1 and 2 so that an unobstructed passageway for the air is -provided. Furthermore, since the opposite end of the curler is open at all times. there is ample opportunity for air to circulate through the hair Y on the curler, thus shortening the drying time whether the drying is done by natural air movement or by a blower which forces heated air over thehead. y

.To use the. device a strand of hair is first i clamped between the finger I1 and the body Il of the curler. The hair is then wound onto the curler. 'over the ilnger I1 to hold the latter in place.vand this winding is continued'until the roll of hair is yadjacent; .the scalp. The curler and hair are then secured by placing the elastic cord 22 over the outside of rthe hair and engaging the hook 23 with the end of the cylindrical portion I4.V As previously described, the elastic cord 22 may be placed in any position along the length I- have developed rthe form shown in Fig. 5. In y that form, the curler is provided with a body portion =I0 having ridges II and grooves I2 with holes I3 formed at the bottoms of the grooves as before. The body. I0 is formed to produce a cy- I llndrical portion I4 of small diameter, and a cylindrical portion 'I5 of larger diameter at its opposite ends. A I'finger I1 is plvotally attached to the body portion I0 by a rivet '20, and a cross member 25 is held in the cylindrical portion I5 -by the rivetA and by ears l26 fitting in holes 21.

All of these members may be identica-l with the lcorresponding members of the preferred form previously described, but the clamping member .to hold the hair in place on the curler is modified as shown in Fig. 5. As in rthe preferred form, the cross member 25 has a. hole 30 centrally'located therein and a rivet 40 or similar mem-ber is suitably mounted in the hole to extend coaxially with the -body I0 and be rotatable about .that axis. A metal clamping member 4I extends the length of the curler and is provided with ears 42 .which are pivotally attached -to the rivet 40 so that the clamping member may extend parallel to the body, as mentioned, or may be swung away therefrom to permit the hair to be wound onto the latter. L

At the free end of the clamping member 4I are a pair of resilient engaging arms 43 which yare adapted to fit around and engage the small cylindrical portion I4 so that the clamping meinber 4I may be firmly held in .this position. A

li-p 44 may conveniently be .formed at the free 'gend of the clamping member 4I to aid in grasping the latter to swing it away from the body portion Ill when tightly held by the engaging arms 4.3.

'ince the rivet 40 is`rotatably mounted in the cross member 25, .the clamping member 4| may be turned to any desired position along the body I0 of the curler and thus any desired length of hair may be wound on the curler'.

In use, the hair is wound upon the curler as in the" preferred from, and when this is completed.

throughout the length or the body to aid in drying the hair.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a curler which is so constructed as to improve the ow of air through the hair and thus materially decrease the drying time of the latter. Furthermore, in both the preferred and optional forms. I provide clamping members to hold the hair on the curler which are adjustable so that any desired number of turns or portions of turns of the hair may be placed on the curler to permit the hair to be rolled all the way to the scalp without pulling the latter. While I have shown and device, I do not wish to be limited to the particular form or arrangement of parts herein described and shown, except as covered by my claims.

1. A hair curler which includes: a tubular body portion having holes therein through 'which air may pass; and a clamping member attached to said body portion at one end thereof for rotato be engaged with the other end thereof to prevent the unwinding of hair wound upon said body portion.

2. A hair curler which includes: a tubular body portion having holes therein through which air may pass; a cross member attached to said body portion at one end thereof; and a clamping member attached to said cross member for rotation about the axis of said body portion, and adapted to be engaged with the other end thereof to prevent the unwinding of hair wound upon said body portion.

3. A hair curler which includes: a tubular body portion having holes therein through which air rnay pass, and `having a larger substantially cylindrical portion at one end and a smaller substantially cylindrical portion atthe other end; a cross member attached to said larger cylindrical i portion; and a clamping .member attached 'to said cross member for rotation about the axis of said body portion and adapted to be removably attached to the end of said smaller cylindrical portion to prevent the unwinding of hair wound upon said body portion.`

4. A hair curlerwhich includes: a tubular body portion having longitudinally extending ridges and grooves therein, with holes formed in said grooves through which air may pass; a cylindrical member at one end of said body portion and coaxial therewith; a small cylindrical member at the other end of saidbody portion and coaxial therewith; a cross member attached to saidV larger cylindrical member; and a clamping member attached to said cross member for rotation about the axis oi' said body portion, adapted to be removably attached to the end of said smaller cylindrical member to prevent the unwinding .of hair wound upon said body portion. y s

5. A hair curler which includes: a tubular body portion having longitudinally extending ridges and grooves thereinl said ridges being adapted `to support hair wound upon said body portion,

and said grooves having holes therein through which air may pass; a cylindrical member at one a smaller cylindrical member at the other end described a preferred and optional form o! my end o! said body portionand coaxial therewith;

vtion about the axis of said body, and adapted *2 6 of said body portion and coaxial therewith; a ilnger pivotally attached to said larger cylindrical member adapted to extend along the length oi said body portion on the outside thereof; a

cross member attached to said larger cylindrical member at the outer end thereof and having a centrally located hole, said first mentioned cylindrical member having a portion cut awayadjacent said cross member to permit a free now of air through said body portion and said cylindrical members; and a claming member rotatably mounted in said hole and adapted to extend along the length of said body portion and engage said smaller cylindrical member, whereby hair may be wound on said curler and held against unrolling by said clamping member.

6. A curler as described in claim 5 in which said clamping member includes: an elastic cord one end of which is passed through said hole in said cross member and held therein ;.an`d a hook member attached to the other end of said cord, adapted to engage the free end of said smaller .cylindrical member.-

7. A curler as described in claim 5 in which said clamping member includes: a shaft rotatably held in said hole in said cross member; a clamping arm pivotally attached to said' shaft and adapted to extend along th'e length of said'body portion to clamp hair between said arm and said body portion; and engaging arms at the free end 'of said clamping arm adapted to engage said smaller cylindrical member to hold said clamping arm against pivoting.

8. A hair curler which includes: a tubular body portion having holes therein through which air may pass; an elastic cord one end of 'which is attached to one. end of said body portion for rotation about theaxisof the latter; and a hook member attached to the other end of said cord to engage the free end of Y said body portion. thereby preventing the unwinding oi hair wound upon said body portion.

9. A hair curler which includes: a tubular body portion having holes therein through which airv may pass; a shaft yattached to said body portion at one end thereof vfor rotation about the axis of the latter: a clamping arm pivotally attached to said shaft and adapted to extend along the length of said body portion to clamp hair be- REFERENCES orrED y The following references are ofrecord in the ille of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Freeman.... v 1 ,Man 8, 1938 Kahn July 12, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain July 22, 1926 Number Number tween said arm and said body portion; and en 

